Support Art Education and Inspire Young Artists

As the impact of COVID-19 continues, National YoungArts Foundation remains committed to identify the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, and provide them with creative and professional development opportunities throughout their careers. This month join us in celebrating the 2021 Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Awardee and recapping the premiere of Without Further Delay.

2021 Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award

On March 9, 2021, National YoungArts Foundation was thrilled to announce Alora Young as the recipient of the 2021 YoungArts Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award, a $50,000 scholarship given each year to a YoungArts winner in Writing. Young may apply the financial award against the cost of tuition, room and board to attend an accredited school of her choice.

Young is a spoken word artist and Youth Poet Laureate of Nashville, Tennessee. A senior at Hillsboro High School, Young serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Burro Underground and is the recipient of The Princeton Prize in Race Relations. She is the founder of AboveGround, a nonprofit organization seeking to create equity in Nashville elementary schools through a combination of creative writing and Black history. Young is also a TedX Speaker, and her work has previously been published in The New York Times, Signal Mountain Review and Rigorous Magazine.

Now in its fourth year, the Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award demonstrates how individual donor support for YoungArts award winners can create transformative opportunities for artists throughout their careers. The award is part of YoungArts’ ongoing programmatic expansion, offering additional creative and professional development opportunities for artists throughout their careers. 

Without Further Delay

On April 8, 2021, National YoungArts Foundation in partnership with Aon premiered Without Further Delay, a virtual dance performance. Choreographed by co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Tony Award nominee Desmond Richardson (1986 YoungArts Winner in Dance & U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) the performance featured a composition by Grammy Award winner Terence Blanchard (1980 YoungArts Winner in Classical Music) and brought together nine 2021 YoungArts award winners from across the country. Without Further Delay investigated the current moment by exploring elements of isolation, confinement, communality, perseverance, and diversity. Without Further Delay, is available here on the YoungArts YouTube channel.

This dance commission is a part of YoungArts’ commitment to supporting YoungArts award winners at every stage of their careers. Throughout the season, all YoungArts award winners have ongoing opportunities to learn from notable guest artists and to participate in creative and professional development opportunities, as well as conversations and discussions to build community and engage with their peers.

As our season continues, please visit our website www.youngarts.org to stay informed of any upcoming programming or announcements. You may also subscribe to any of our social media sites, which include YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.